Getty The 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo tries to escape from Demarcus Lawrence of the Dallas Cowboys during their Sunday, January 16 NFC Wildcard playoff game in Arlington, Texas.
In the last three games, Jimmy Garoppolo has posted the following touchdown to interception ratio for the San Francisco 49ers: Two touchdown passes and five interceptions.
Garoppolo has thrown more takeaways than touchdowns against the following three playoff teams: The Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams and the Dallas Cowboys — the latter occurring on Sunday, January 16, during the fourth quarter of the road playoff game at Arlington, Texas.
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Garoppolo and the 49ers still squeaked out the 23-17 emotional win over Dallas to advance on in the NFL playoffs. But Garoppolo still has his detractors online — notably Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated’s “All 49ers.”
Super Bowl winning quarterbacks don’t make the mistakes Jimmy Garoppolo made today. He’s a liability even when his run game and defense carry him.
Jimmy Garoppolo threw a pick AND screwed up a QB sneak in the fourth quarter of a playoff game he almost lost. It’s hard to overstate how bad he was when it really mattered. The 49ers won in spite of him.
Former NFL quarterback turned ESPN personality Dan Orlovsky is another one who isn’t sold on him and the 49ers, calling them a “bad matchup” for their upcoming opponent the Green Bay Packers.
And, Garoppolo was the subject of more trade rumors by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network on the eve of the playoff game against the Cowboys, noted here in this Heavy on 49ers story. ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter added to the trade rumors on the morning of the Dallas game.
During the second half of this season, Jimmy Garoppolo simultaneously has raised his value to both the 49ers and to other teams in the off-season trade market. 49ers would not be where they are today without him.
Garoppolo hears the criticism toward him and the 49ers. And he’s given it this response.
Garoppolo’s Fiery Message to Detractors
In a Monday Morning Quarterback conversation with NBC Sports’ Peter King, Garoppolo shared to the longtime insider that he uses the online and non-internet criticism as his fuel.
“I think a big part of it is just knowing who you are — as a player and a person, really,” Garoppolo told King. “That will take you a long way. It’s kind of a big part of just my mental game.”
Garoppolo naysayers describe him as a non-trustworthy quarterback who is mistake prone. But what is Garoppolo’s response to that?
“I know what type of quarterback I am. I know what type of player I am in this league and where I stand,” Garoppolo said.
And that’s when Garoppolo fired off his fiery message.
“All the noise out there and everything, keep it coming,” Garoppolo said. “It fuels me, and it keeps me going. It’s a good thing when people are talking about you.”
Garoppolo Receives 2 Backers Including Former Teammate
There are those people out there who are still believers in Jimmy G.
One is a former teammate of his from the 49ers who is now on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ roster: Richard Sherman.
“Hope the faithful show my guy (Garoppolo) the love he deserves. There is a reason he has so much love and respect from his teammates,” was what Sherman tweeted during the Dallas game.
Garoppolo received another ardent supporter from the Bay Area in a 49ers beat reporter: Jack Hammer of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
“Ripping Jimmy Garoppolo is the cool thing to do on this site, and he did have a rough second half, but ignoring his first half is the height of recency bias,” was what Hammer posted on the morning of Monday, January 17.
Turns out Garoppolo also played the entire Cowboys game on a bad shoulder — which adds the latest ailment that Jimmy G has decided to play with.
So Jimmy Garoppolo played the entire game with a torn ligament in his throwing thumb and over half of it with a sprained shoulder. Combination of both is relevant when discussing his second-half drop in accuracy. Because he was very on point in the first half before missing in 2H
Garoppolo Holds One High Mark
Since 2016, Garoppolo has found his way into one notable category: Victories.
In fact, according to CBS Sports’ NFL Twitter account, Garoppolo has a higher winning percentage over one Super Bowl winning quarterback and former NFL Most Valuable Player winner and trails three past MVP winners including two Super Bowl champs.
Highest win pct since 2016
Patrick Mahomes .792
Tom Brady .788
Lamar Jackson .717
Jimmy Garoppolo .706
Aaron Rodgers .676
*min. 50 starts, includes postseason
Yes, Garoppolo has been mistake-prone and has made the kind of throws that have made 49er fans cringe at their television screens or vent on social media. Yet through it all, the 49ers find ways to win the game — and Garoppolo clearly hears and sees the negative noise, demanding more of it as fuel to keep the season alive for the ‘Niners.